William egbert sykes



(N M d l.)

e. W. R. sYKBs, J1-.& J. P. oDoNNELL.

LOCK AND BLOCK SGNALING 0N RAILWAYS No. 568,993. Patented 0ct. 6, 1896.

'n-n: Nonms crans co vnovoumo, w-smnarum n. c

UNITED STATES v yPATENT OFFICE.

IYILLIAM ROBERTLSYKES, JR., AND JOHN `PATRICK ODONN ELL, OF LONDON,ENGLAND, ASSIGNORS TO REGINALD BREADALBANE ANNESLEY, OF LIVERPOOL, ANDEDWIN BLAKEY, OF BRADFORD, ENGLAND.

LOCK-AND-BLOCK SIGNALING' ON RAILWAYS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 568,993, dated October6, 1896. Application filed February 6, 1895. Serial No. 537,534. (Nomodel.) Patented in England January 18, 1895,No. 1,245.

To @ZZ whom, it may concern:

Be it known that we, WILLIAM ROBERT SYKES, .I r., residing at 43 KentHouse Road, Beckenham, London, in the county of Kent,

and JOHN PATRICK ODONNELL, residing at 70 and 71 Palace Chambers, BridgeStreet, lVestminster, London, in the county of Middlesex, England,subjects of the Queen of Great Britain and Ireland, have invented 1o newand useful Improvements in Signaling on Railways and Means Therefor,(for which we have obtained a patent in Great Britain, No. 1,245,bearing date January 18, 1895,) of which the following is aspecitcation.

15 Our invention has reference to improvements in what is known aslock-and-block signaling on railways; and it consists in the novelcombination of the parts hereinafter fully described and claimed.

2o The drawing shows a diagram of the apparatus.

In the illustration four treadles are shown, two at desired spots inadvance of As starting-signal and, correspondingly, two doing 2 5similar duty in advance of Bs starting-signal.

It should be understood that, although the contacts perform dierentresults, yet they may be in one treadle or they may be in two treadles.This description refers to the 3o treadles in advance of Asstarting-signal, and the same description also refers to the treadles inadvance of Bs starting-signal.

1 is the ordinary block instrument in signal-cabin A. 2 is a similarinstrument in 3 5 signal-cabin B. Y

3 and 4 are treadles in advance of the starting-signal at A. 5 and 6 aresimilar treadles in advance of the starting-signal at B.

7 is the circuit from treadle 6, through relay 10, to treadle 3. v

S is the circuit through treadle 5, relay 23, and treadle 4.

9 is the ordinary block-circuit through instruments 1 and 2, and alsopassing through 45 polarized relay 11 to'earth 30.

10 is an ordinary relay.

11 is a polarized relay whose tongue 19 makes contact with 2O when theblock instruments are pegged over to line clear.7

12 is a battery in circuit 7.

13 is the battery in circuit 34.

14 is the block-instrument battery at A.

15 is a powerful battery which deects the needles in block` instrumentsat A and B to train on line when relay 23 is energized. 55

16 is the block-instrument battery at B.

17 is an insulated arm fixed to the aXle of block instrument at A whichraises spring 1S when the handle of the instrument is moved to lineclear. The object of this is 6o to prevent a permissive current beingsent through polarized relay 11 by signalman at A when the line isblocked or-the section occupied by a train.

21 illustrates the starting-signalin advance 65 of As signal-cabin.

22 is the arm-replacer or electric slot fixed in the upright rod betweenthe balance-weight lever and the signal-arm.

23 is a relay placed in signal-cabin at B, or 7o any desired spot, theobject of which is to ,send a current into the instruments at A and B,indicating on the dial train'on line when the treadle 4 is depressed.

24 is the armature of relay 23, shown in the 75 normal position, thatis, making contact with two contact-pieces 25. y

26 are the contacts below the armature which are made when therelay-magnet 23 is energized. 8o

2T is another contact placed below armature 24, which leads to earth 31.

2S is an earth-wire leading to battery 15, and 29 is a battery in thecircuit S.

30 is the earth-wire attached to polarized 85 relay 11.

32 is the earth-wire attached to armature of relay 10.

33 is a trigger-contact on starting-signal lever at A, which is normallybroken, but is 9o made when the catch-handle is raised.

34 is the replacer-circuit.

35 is the earth-wire leading to replacer 22 on the starting-signal at A,and v36 is the earth of block instrument at B.

The working of our invention is as follows: The drawing illustrates thevarious magnets and treadles after the passage of the first train overthe railway. The action set up by the passage of the train is asfollows: As sanction roo must be given by the cabin in advance, B,before any train can leave A, that is, before As starting-signal can belowered, it is obvious that some action must be performed on the treadleat B in order that B may start the first train from A. Therefore let itbe assumed that the treadle at B has been operated, so that B can givesanction to A. The action of the treadle 6 being deflected is asfollows: The arma-ture of relay 10 is away from its contact before thetreadle 6 at B has been depressed, but immediately upon the depressionof treadle 6 the contacts, which are normally broken, are made. Thissets up a current on line-wire 7 from the battery 12, energizing magnets10 and attracting armature of same. Immediately on the train passingclear of treadle 6 it resumes its normal position, that is to say,'thecircuit at the treadle being broken, but the armature of l beingattracted and held, has set up a local circuit, (which we will call 7for the purpose of distinction from the main circuit 7,) holding thearmature in the worked position. This circuit is from the battery 12,through wire 7 to the coils of the magnets 10, through the treadle 3 toearth 3, from earth 3 to earth 32, through the armature of 10 and itscontact and the wire 7 n to battery 12, thus completing the circuit.There is now no current ilowin g through the main wire 7 from itsjunction with 7a to the treadle 6. The effect of this last currentflowing through 10 from battery 12 and treadle 3 is that upon thesignalman moving his catch-handle the contacts 33 are made and a currentis set up from battery 13, through wire 31, to the electric slot orreplacer 22 on the startingsignal 21, through the coil of the replacerto earth 35, from earth 35 toearth 32, through the armature of magnet 10and its contact to the tongue 19 of polarized relay 11, to contact 20,(which must be made by the signalman at B pegging the needle of hisinstrument to line clear, moving the tongue' 19 to contact 20, whichwill be described hereinafter,) along wire 34 to spring 18, and fromthence back to battery 13. The signal-arm can now be moved to thesafety7 attitude.

Upon the train passing out of As section treadle L is operated, Contactbeing broken, armature of relay moves away from its magnets thusbreaking down circuit through the slot 22 on the starting-signal 21. Bythis action the arm 22 assumes the danger attitudeA This starting-signalat A cannot be lowered to the safety attitude until the current whichwas previously broken down by the action of treadle is again set up,which latter cannot take place until treadle 6 has been depressed, whichaction is hereinbefore described.

A train on passing over the contact 4, which may or may notbe in aseparate treadle from 3, sets up a current from battery 29, along theline-wire through the coils of relay 23, and attracts the armature 24.This is held locally by making contact with the contact 27, the earth 31joining with earth 33. The effect of this is to bring battery intooperation. A powerful current is now ilowng from the battery throughcontacts 2G, through the dial of the instrument 2 at B, out againthrough line-wire 9, into the instrument 1 at A and its dial, ndingearth through the polarized relay l1. The needles are now pointing toTrain on line, and they remain in that position until the train arrivesat treadle 5, which, being operated, breaks down the circuit 8, thearmature 24E moves away from magnet 23, and the current releases theneedles in both instruments, allowing them to assume their previous.position.

A is powerless to lower the starting-signal 21, but only from the factthat B has not pegged his instrument to Line clear, giving him authorityto do so. B pegs the needle of his instrument to Line clear,77 and acurrent is set up as follows: From battery 16 it goes to the reverser 2,to the left-hand line-spring 2b, along line-wire 9, through contacts 25,back along line-wire 9, through the terminals and lightning-arrester,around the coils of the dial at B, and through the terminals on theright hand of the instrument, along line-wire 9 to the right-'handline-spring of the instrument 1 at A, across' to the lefthand spring,from thence to the terminals and lightning-arrester in the instrument atA, through the coils of the dial, from the right-hand terminals alongwire 9 to the coils of the polarized relay 11, through them to earth 30,from earth 30 to earth 36, along'the wire 9 to the right-handline-spring of the instrument at B, (this being in connection with thereverser 2%) and from thence,through the line-wire 9,- to the battery1b', completing the circuit. on the dials of both instruments to Lineclear. It also moves the tongue 19 of polarized relay 11 into contactwith contact 20.

An important` feature of our invention, which is incidental to theworking, is thatif B, having given sanction to A to send a train from Ato B and A has lowered his startingsignal to the safety attitude, and atthis stage B wishes to suspend that sanction and prevent A from sendingthe train, B can, by restoring the handle of his instrument to thestraight or normal position and the needle on the dial to line blocked,replace As starting-signal t-o the danger attitude independent of A, andindicate at- A on As dial that he has suspended the sanction by Asneedle assuming the normal or line-blocked position.

The arm-replacer or electric slot, which is fixed in the upright rodintermediate between the arm and its balance-weight lever on thesignal-post, may be of any of the various forms or kinds of electricslots or arm-replacers which are now in use, the 'method of operationbeing that, assuming it is As start- This currentmoves the needles f IOOIIO

ing-signal, A is powerless to'operate the arl to the safety7 attitudewithout previous sanction from B. If A moves his startingsignal lever,the balance-lever on the post is thrust upward, but no action takesplace on the arm. For the arm to be deflected B must have givenelectrical sanction by pegging his instrument to line clear, which, asdescribed, sets up a current so that the armature in the electric sloton the post is attracted to the magnet, which makes a rigid connection,so that A, on operating his mechanical lever in the signal-box, can thendefiect the arm to the safety attitude.

If desirable, an arm or other form of indicator might be attached to thearmature of the relay 10, so that the movement of the armature Woulddeiiect a small semaphore-arm or aneedle, as the case may be, indicatingwhen a train has passed clear of Bs section, that is to say, depressedtreadle 6.

Having fully described our invention, what We claim, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is

1n a system of signaling on railways, the combination, with thesingle-needle instruments 1 and 2 operatively connected together;

of a treadle 6, an electromagnet 10 provided with an armature, a battery12, a treadle 3, and a wire 7 connecting the said treadles andelectromagnet With the battery 12; a polarized relay 11 included in theblock-circuit 9 of the instrument 1, a local circuit 'a holding` theVarmature in contact With the electromagnet 10 after the same has beenenergized, the contacts 33 and a signal catch-handle for connectingthem, a battery 13, a Wire 34, connected with the starting-signal and tothe contacts 33 and battery 13; a tongue 19 connected with the relay 11,and a contact 2O connected to the Wire 34, the said starting-signal notbeing free to be operated until after the treadle 6 has been depressed,energizing magnets 10, and the tongue 19 has been placed in contact withthe contact 20, by means of the line-clear current from instrument 2, 45

substantially as set forth.

WILLIAM ROBERT SYKES, JR. JOHN PATRICK ODONNELL.

Witnesses: V

CHAs. ROCHE, HARRY PETER VENN.

